My daughter asked last night for a special birthday breakfast for this morning. In anticipation of the usual Monday morning rush, compounded with a 9 am appointment, I knew I needed to have prepared last night whichever batter I was going to use in the morning. But back late from a Bar Mitzvah last night, I was too tired to start whipping something from scratch. As necessity is the mother of all ingenuity, I had one of those sweet aha! moments. I decided to use my very own versatile mix (more about this will be coming very soon) to make a pan bread my mom used to make for us, which we all devoured and asked for more. I had never made this dish, though I always looked forward for the day I will tackle it, deconstruct it and come up with a recipe that could be duplicated. My mom does not follow recipes—she is a bit-of-this-a-handful-of-that kind of cook. So this dish was left to be as a sweet childhood memory. Until this morning. Referred to as ‘galoob,’ which means to turn over, it is a traditional Yemenite pan fried pita-like bread. It looks like a thick, large pancake, but denser. After it is cooked, you tear it into large bite-size pieces, pour samna (ghee, or clarified butter) all over, sprinkle with sugar or drizzle honey, mix and serve while hot. When my youngest came into the kitchen, he crinkled his nose at the strange odor — the clarified butter. As a child, I found it offensive to my hyper sensitive nose. The flavor, though, is something else altogether. They, too, devoured it and asked for more. I know my mom will be pleased they did.
